The present invention relates to tire changers and processes used in the changing of tires. More particularly, the present invention relates to a tire changing machine incorporating features to assist an operator in changing a tire with a liner such as those used in NASCAR vehicles.
Those of skill in the art of designing and manufacturing equipment used to change tires mounted on the rims of cars, light trucks, and other vehicles will appreciate that many prior art tire changing machines exist. For example, a rim holding tire changer is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,182,736 to Cunningham et al., the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
The typical tire-changing procedure involves the following steps: (1) loosening the seal between the tire's bead and the rim, (2) placing the tire-rim assembly on the tire changer, (3) securing the rim to the tire changer, (4) removing the tire from the rim using a mount/dismount head, (5) placing a new tire over the rim, (6) mounting the tire on the rim by using the mount/dismount head to force the bead over the rim, and (7) filling the air chamber of the tire with air to inflate the new tire.
Changing a NASCAR-specific tire involves more steps than changing a typical passenger vehicle tire due to the presence of a tire liner within the tire. Therefore, in addition to the steps recited above, changing a NASCAR tire includes steps associated with removing and installing the tire liner. Typically, the NASCAR tire is ovalated (i.e., made oval shaped) by the application of force to the tire such that the liner may be more easily removed/inserted. Because the sidewalls of NASCAR tires are typically quite stiff, the application of a relatively large amount of force may be necessary to ovalate the tire.